Welcome
at the Domaine de Nerleux

Our story

Nerleux, nine generations of the same land

Nerleux is the Old French name for black wolves , a reminder of a time when these animals still roamed the Loire Valley landscape. The wolves have long since given way to vineyards, and the sound of pruning shears has replaced their howls. But their nobility has left an indelible mark on the estate, on this terroir, and ultimately on every vintage produced here.

It was in 1870 that Eugène Neau, already from a line of winegrowers in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg , bought this former manor house to establish the fourth generation of the family. Today, Amélie is at the helm : the 9th generation, the first woman in the lineage, and a resolutely committed winemaker.

Alpha Wolf Open House

Nervous engraving

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Read our story

Amélie grew up here. Among the rows of vines, in the cellars carved into the rock, amidst the harvests and the changing seasons. An only child, she always knew, deep down, that this estate would one day be hers. But her parents had an equally firm conviction: "Finish your baccalaureate first." And Amélie proved them right.

She headed to Paris to study psychology and human resources, then spent ten years in the banking sector. A busy decade encompassing team management, project management, marketing, communication, finance, and administration. Years she cherishes and which shaped the winemaker she has become.

In 2010, the call of the land won out. She trained in viticulture and winemaking and joined her parents, Élisabeth and Régis, on the estate. The handover was smooth and trusting. She quickly took over the reins on her own.

Today, she manages a team of nine full-time employees, carefully recruited and trained to ensure the estate fully reflects her values: high standards, a warm welcome, and a passion for wine. The team is supported by seasonal workers during key moments in the winemaking calendar: pruning, bud thinning, and harvesting. A new chapter for the estate is being written, true to all the previous ones.

The family connection with the territory also extends to the Robert & Marcel cooperative winery in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, founded in particular by Robert Neau, his grandfather, and to which the estate continues to contribute part of its production.

1870

Arrival of the NEAU family at the Domaine

1974

Régis takes over the management of the Domaine de Nerleux

1985

First commercialization of bottled wine

1990

Babette joins Régis at the Domaine and the first winemaking takes place in the cellar.

2001

First vintage of our flagship cuvée Les Loups Noirs and creation of the wolf logo

2010

Amélie arrives at the Domaine to take over its management. The organic conversion begins.

2017

Renovation of Amélie's grandparents' house into a holiday cottage

2020

Escape Game Opening

2022

Obtaining organic farming certification

“Like Obelix, I fell into the cauldron when I was little. My cauldron is the cellars of Nerleux. Becoming a winemaker was like a natural progression.”

Amélie Neau, owner of the Domaine

Our values

An estate rooted in life, looking towards the future

28 hectares certified in organic farming, tuffeau soils that have been working for the vine for centuries, an extraordinary built and underground heritage. Amélie took over a demanding legacy and profoundly transformed it: conversion to organic hectare by hectare, new grape varieties planted, ephemeral cuvées and troglodytic cellars always at the service of wine.
And above all, a wide-open space, designed to welcome and share. At Nerleux, values aren't displayed. They are cultivated.

Our commitments in detail

Working the vineyard differently.

The conversion to organic farming required rethinking every action, relearning how to work the land : mechanical weeding, sometimes manual, and bringing back into use the old plows left by our ancestors. Hedges were replanted in several plots, in partnership with the Saumur-Champigny Winegrowers' Association, to restore biodiversity. A deliberate and demanding choice.

An exceptional terroir beneath our feet

Beneath our vines, there is tuffeau, a porous limestone rock, typical of the Saumur-Champigny appellationIts ability to store water deep down and release it to the vine is invaluable: even during periods of drought, the vines remain alive, the foliage remains green. A signature that gives the estate's wines their remarkable freshness and uniqueness.

This is the same stone that our ancestors carved out to build the estate. Several houses, a wine cellar, a pavilion, a chapel.

The estate boasts magnificent 17th, 18th, and 19th-century buildings that it has carefully maintained and modernized for generations. For tuffeau stone, however noble, deteriorates quickly and requires constant attention. Amélie has continued this work since taking over the estate, progressively renovating the spaces, including the beautiful reception and tasting room at its heart, where visitors and wine enthusiasts are warmly welcomed throughout the year.

And beneath these buildings, another treasure: the village of Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg is home to 200 km of underground tunnels, old extraction quarries carved into the rock. The wine cellar at Domaine de Nerleux was born from this: The tuffeau stone was extracted for construction, and the wines were then stored in the galleries thus exposed. Unlike many other cellars in the region that have been converted into mushroom farms, ours has always been used exclusively for winemaking. Even today, it is used for storing older vintages and aging our most iconic wines in barrels. Les Loups Noirs et La Louve Alpha.

Ancient grape varieties and new experiments

Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc remain the two pillars of the estate and the flagship grape varieties of the Saumur region . Around them, Amélie has planted Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Grolleau Gris, and more recently, Pineau d'Aunis, an ancient grape variety that is experiencing a revival. Thus, new wines appear over time… some limited-edition, others not!

Conviviality as an art of living

With the development of wine tourism, the renovation of the facilities, and the training of the team in the art of hospitality, Amélie has made welcoming guests an absolute priority. Cellar tours, guided tastings, family treasure hunts, escape games, themed evenings, open days… Every experience is designed to be unique and personalized.

Our Team

Discover the faces of those who make Nerleux what it is. In everyday life: in the vineyards,
At the winery, at the office… and a Girl Team that has more than one trick up its sleeve!